The New England Patriots get their first taste of real football on Thursday night with a head-to-head showdown with the Houston Texans slated for the preseason opener.
Houston wasted no time in naming rookie first-round draft pick C.J. Stroud as the starting quarterback for the game. That move alone creates excitement right out of the gates and should draw even more eyes to this match-up.
With that said, the Patriots aren’t expected to play their starters in this meeting. This will be a game where they likely highlight Bailey Zappe, Trace McSorley and possibly even Malik Cunningham at quarterback.
We should also get an opportunity to see more of the rookie standouts, like Christian Gonzalez, Marte Mapu, Keion White, Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte.
The offense for the Patriots will obviously draw the most attention with Bill O’Brien taking over as the new play-caller. Will he be able to get the unit back on track? That question starts getting answered on Thursday.
Here’s how to watch the game.